Shattered Heart
by MagicInMe123
Summary: When something is wrong with Brooke, can Rachel save her? Will Brooke let Rachel in, after she's been hurt so many times or are her walls too high? Brachel pairing. warning: abuse
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Guys, this is my first One Tree Hill story and I've always liked Rachel and Brooke together. I think it's about time someone saved Brooke, so here's the story. Review if you can, it'd help **

Brooke Davis was considered a lucky girl by most of the population. If only those people knew the truth. Brooke Davis was broken and miserable and no one noticed. At least, she thought no one noticed…

It was any other morning at Tree Hill High school and Brooke was strolling into class, late. She winced as she opened the door, the tiny motion sending spurts of pain through her whole body. That seemed to be all Brooke had been feeling lately, pain. She had barley found the strength to even get out of bed this morning and now facing an entire day at school seemed impossible. Brooke guessed she should be happy, at least her parents weren't around to see all the pain and shit in her life. Ever since she was a baby, Brooke hadn't been good enough. Not for her parents, not for anyone, causing the root of all her current insecurities.

But Brooke was wrong, someone was watching her. Probably the last person she expected to. It was none other than Rachel Gatina, her "enemy" But Rachel didn't hate Brooke, as a matter of fact, she was in love with Brooke and had been for a while now. She just wished she could tell her… But she couldn't Brooke wouldn't love her back, there was no way.

"_That's weird. Brooke is never late for class and she just looks like she's in pain. I mean come on, look at that smile, fakest thing ever. Are her 'friends' really that stupid? Something's going on" _Rachel thought to herself.

Brooke briskly walked to her seat, which was conveniently right in front of Rachel. Brooke sighed, as much as she knew it would be suicide for her to tell anyone about what was happening to her, sometimes she just wish someone would notice. Not even her best friend Peyton or her ex boyfriend Lucas even noticed something was off.

"Hey Brooke?" Rachel said timidly trying to get Brooke attention.

"What do you want Rachel?" Brooke asked in a defeated tone Rachel had never heard her use before.

Rachel's eyes softened and she leaned close and whispered "Are you okay? You don't look so good"

Brooke was shocked that Rachel of all people was concerned for her. Quickly recovering from the surprise Brooke fired back defensively "Fine slut, what's it to you?"

Rachel sighed, knowing Brooke was just lashing out. "It's my concern if the cheer captain can't do her damn job." Rachel said simply.

"Screw you." Brooke said, while rolling her eye and turning back around.

As soon as the teacher walked in, Rachel began studying Brooke, watching the girl's tense posture and shaking hands. Brooke didn't seem to move at all throughout the lesson, which worried Rachel. Determined to find out what was wrong, Rachel vowed not to let Brooke push her away and was determined to break down the other girl's walls.

About a half an hour later, the bell rang sending all the students to their next class. Rachel had gym with Brooke next, a class she made sure she watched Brooke in.

As Rachel entered the locker room, she saw Brooke in the back talking to the coach and making motions toward her stomach. The coach nodded sympathetically and Brooke walked away, relief evident on her face.

This was also strange to Rachel considering how Brooke liked gym although she wasn't surprised coach believed Brooke was sick, she certainly looked it. Now that Brooke was facing her again, Rachel could see the artfully concealed bags under her eyes, signs of obvious sleep deprivation as well as the paleness of the younger girl's face. Brooke had never looked more fragile in front of Rachel before.

Another thing concerning Rachel was that Brooke was wearing skinny jeans and a tight long-sleeved shirt, which was _modest. _Brooke Davis was a lot of things; a modest dresser was not one of them. Not to mention that it was spring, the time for short shorts and tank tops, not long sleeves.

Rachel walked over to her locker to get changed. While she was so deep in thought she didn't see Brooke walking the exact same way and the two girls collided. Rachel took a step back, as if the collision was nothing. Brooke, on the other hand hissed in pain, clutching her stomach.

"Oh Shit, that really hurt." Brooke murmured to herself.

"Brooke, we barley collided. Are you sure your okay Davis?" Rachel asked, trying not to make her concern for the brunette obvious.

"Yeah yeah, whatever Gatina. I'm fine. Watch we're your walking next time." Brooke said angrily as she brushed past the other girl.

Rachel rolled her eyes and got dressed for gym, now very late.

Rachel didn't see Brooke again until cheer practice. Rachel was anxious to see the girl again and also see if she would change for cheer, one of Brooke's favorite activities.

"Alright ladies stretch!" Brooke yelled.

"Why are you in like…hot weather clothes B? Everyone told me it was spring…" Asked a ditsy, yet curious Bevin.

"Well Bevin…I um left my other clothes at home and this was all I brought in my bag." Brooke defended. Brooke ended up in a tight, all black athletic long-sleeved shirt and yoga pants.

Bevin and the other girls nodded finding the answer acceptable while Rachel made a mental note to corner Brooke in the locker room after school and find out what was wrong with her brown haired beauty.

Brooke ran practice very harshly, pushing both the other girls and herself. Rachel was worried, if Brooke wasn't careful, the other girls would see the pain in her eyes every time she moved of the gasp that came out of her mouth every time she would perform a trick.

"That's enough ladies. We're done for the day. Good job today and be ready for tomorrow's game!" Brooke said in a tired, yet cheery voice.

Rachel nodded, accepting that the time to talk to Brooke would be soon. She quickly changed herself while Brooke spoke to Whitey about the game the following day. As Brooke entered the locker room, most of the other girls were clearing out, saying goodbye as they left. One by one all the girls left accept Rachel.

Brooke, thinking she was alone, let out a cry of pain. She tried to change out of her sweaty cheer clothes but couldn't. Brooke took a shaky breath before standing up, using a locker for support and draping her gym bag over her shoulder.

"Need some help with that Davis?" Rachel asked in an uncharacteristically kind tone.

"Not a chance Gatina, I can handle myself." Brooke said through gritted teeth, she was really not in the mood to fight with Rachel.

"I have a feeling you've been handling yourself for a little too long Brooke, give someone else a turn." Rachel said softly.

Brooke's eyes went wide with shock. No one was supposed to know something was wrong, or that Brooke was alone. Especially not Rachel!

Seeing that Brooke was too shocked by Rachel's observation, she slowly walked up to Brooke and placed her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder. Rachel didn't miss the involuntary flinch as Brooke moved away from her touch.

"I'm gonna fix you Brooke Davis." Rachel whispered in her ear. Rachel hesitantly kissed Brooke's cheek before quickly turning on her heel and leaving.

Brook, still in shock whispered to herself "What the hell just happened?"


	2. Chapter 2

Rachel went home to regroup and formulate a plan to get to Brooke. Brooke was the kind of girl, that if you wanted to get anywhere with, emotionally speaking, it had to be a private thing. If you were to try and get into an emotional conversation with her in public, her walls would shoot up. Rachel knew that Brooke didn't let anyone see her vulnerable, which made her even more determined to break through Brooke's walls. Of course, the fact the Brooke hated her certainly didn't help the plan.

Rachel winced as the perfect plan came into her mind. The only way to get Brooke to talk to Rachel was to push her until she broke, and then be there for her. Rachel had to rebuild and compensate for a lifetime of trust issues; she really had her work cut out for her. If Brooke's injuries were purely emotional, things would be simpler, but nothing is ever that simple.

Maybe she was crazy, but Rachel had more than just a hunch that someone was hurting Brooke. As a matter of fact, Rachel was positive someone was hurting her on a physical level, all she needed was proof. Rachel let out a sigh, wishing it would be easier to help the girl she loved.

Meanwhile Brooke went home too. She slung her bags on her bed and collapsed. She let out a sigh, eyeing the bathroom longingly. She desperately wanted to take a shower but the mere thought of getting up and walking all the way across the room made her entire body ache.

Against her better judgment, Brooke dragged herself over to the bathroom. She slowly gripped the bottom of her long-sleeved cheer shirt, cursing herself for wearing tight clothes. She quickly shed herself of the shirt; in an effort to "rip off the Band-Aid" She let out a gasp of pain and doubled over. Moaning as she sank to the floor, she realized taking a shower by herself would be impossible. Brooke's should began to shake and she let out a sob, finally allowing herself to cry after holding in all the pain all day.

"Hey Davis, open up!" Rachel called, as she knocked on the door.

Brooke tensed, her entire body too scared to move.

"Its Rachel, come on just open the door, I know you're in there. Your car is out front." Rachel called, banging harder on the door.

Brooke let out a whimper, and dragged her body off the floor. As her body screaming in protest, Brooke steadied herself on her feet and began to shuffle towards the door. She froze, realizing her bruises would be visible.

"Get lost Gatina, I'm busy." Brooke shouted in an attempt at an angry voice.

On the other side of the door Rachel smirked at Brooke thinking she could fool her.

"Screw this." Rachel murmured to herself. She reached under the rug, hoping to find a spare key to the house. Shockingly enough, there was a spare key under the mat. Rachel picked it up and slowly unlocked the door.

Brooke froze at the sound of the door opening.

"I mean it Rachel! Don't you have some stupid boy to fuck?" Brooke yelled, getting desperate.

Rachel chose to ignore that last comment and felt a twinge of guilt in her heart at the thought of causing Brooke this much stress. She shook it off though, if she really wanted to help Brooke she had to be willing to get pushed away for a while first.

As Brooke heard the door open she cursed, running as fast as her seemingly broken body would allow back to bedroom. Rachel closed the door behind her, gingerly stepping into the large house.

"Brooke? Come on I just want to talk." Rachel stated calmly, hoping to coax Brooke out of wherever she was hiding.

"Great, she's gonna find out and tell the whole school. Shit, I'm so screwed" Brooke murmured as she paced in circles in her bedroom, on the verge of a panic attack. Brooke walked over to her closet, grabbing a thick black hoodie and carefully pulling it over her head. She gasped in pain as it pressed into her bruised body.

Rachel walked through the house slowly, taking in the beautiful house. It looked almost vacant though, as if Brooke was the only person that ever lived here. This struck Rachel as odd, while she'd always known Brooke had absentee parents, she thought they would at least visit once in awhile. As Rachel reached Brooke's bedroom and slowly opened the door, mentally preparing herself for what she may find.

Brooke was sitting in a chair in her room doing something on her laptop with earphones in.

"Brooke?" Rachel said cautiously.

"What do you want slut?" Brooke questioned bitterly.

"I want to talk to you." Rachel stated as if it was obvious.

The laptop seemed to press into Brooke in all the wrong places as she held it in her lap. That coupled with the fact that Brooke's painkillers were wearing off, she began to tremble. The thought of Rachel seeing Brooke weak infuriated her, praying Rachel would just leave her here to suffer on her own.

"Well I have nothing to say to you, so just leave me alone." Brooke fired back angrily, her hands beginning to shake as well.

Rachel walked forward until she was right in front of Brooke. She kneeled down so that they were on eye level. Without breaking eye contact, Rachel took both of Brooke's shaking hands in her own. Brooke seemed to be in some sort of trance, suddenly had to fight the urge to fall into Rachel's arms and cry her eyes out.

"I like you Brooke." Rachel said with unmistakable sincerity in her tone.

"I..I um." Brooke started to stutter

"Shhh, it's okay Brooke. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. I'm done pretending to hate you. I like you and I'll never hurt you again Brooke." Rachel said, still looking deep into Brooke's hazel orbs.

Rachel let go of Brooke hands and both girls instantly missed the contact. As Rachel stood up to leave Brooke stopped her.

"Wait, Rachel wait." Brooke whispered.

Rachel turned around, shocked at how weak Brooke sounded.

"I like you too." Brooke whispered brokenly. "I thought you'd never look at me like that, so I buried how I felt about you in false hatred. I owe you an apology for all the horrible things I said about you, I didn't mean any of it."

Rachel's jaw dropped. The girl of her dreams liked her back? They had both been pretending? This was amazing. If Brooke was her girlfriend it would be much easier for Rachel to help Brooke out of whatever her situation was.

Rachel was snapped out of her thoughts when she realized Brooke was probably expecting some kind of response from her.

"I..wow. I wasn't expecting that." Rachel said. She crossed the room again and lightly draped her arm around Brooke's shoulders, which tensed at the contact. Rachel pretended not to notice.

"Brooke Davis, will you be my girlfriend?" Rachel asked.

Brooke's entire body tensed. She like Rachel, maybe even loved her already and somehow she felt the same way. But could she handle a relationship? Could she trust Rachel? Could she drag Rachel into this? Could Rachel help her? Would Rachel hurt her? All these insecurities raced around Brooke's mind.

"I…


	3. Chapter 3

"I…can't do this." Brooke said, tearing herself away from Rachel.

"Brooke, I-" Rachel began before being cut off.

"I'm sorry…I just can't." Brooke said.

She ran out the door, not wanting Rachel to see her cry. She picked up her bag and ran out of the house as fast as she could, mindful of the fact that her body was screaming in protest.

"Brooke!" Rachel called out. She got up and quickly took off in the direction she'd seen Brooke off in.

Brooke ran outside, not even bothering to close the front door behind her. She raced over to her car and clumsily climbed into the driver's seat. Once she was safe inside, she let out a strangled sob and pulled her knees up into her chest. Buckets of tears poured from the young girl's eyes like a never ending waterfall. The pain in her chest seemed to increase every time she let out another mangled cry.

Brooke could hear Rachel calling her name, but had chosen to ignore it. Now that she was getting closer, Brooke decided she had to get out of there. She sat up in her seat and tried to wipe away the tears that were currently clouding her vision. She began to fumble around, looking for her keys. Her searching became frantic as she saw Rachel approaching the car.

With no time to spare, Brooke found the keys and started the car. Just as she was about to hit the gas pedal, Rachel opened her door.

"Oh Hell no Brooke! I don't give a damn about how upset you are, you _never_ drive when you can't even fucking see straight! Do you want to get yourself killed?" Rachel demanded, furious with Brooke's irresponsibility with herself.

Brooke let out a low, involuntary whimper and Rachel's eyes softened. Seeing the look of pure terror and fear in Brooke's eyes, she calmed down. Trying to ease the fear in the brunette girl's eyes, Rachel approached her slowly.

"Look, we can go anywhere you want, just let me drive okay?" Rachel requested.

Brooke looked down at her hands, seemingly thinking the offer over for a while before nodding and shifting slowly into the passenger's seat.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as Rachel started the car and began driving. Brooke was biting her lip, trying her hardest not to let out a painful sob; her bruises really were killing her. Rachel kept glancing back at Brooke, as if she was afraid the younger girl would disappear. Rachel scanned over Brooke's entire body with her eyes, realizing that Brooke not only looked exhausted, but much too thin as well. Rachel made a vow to get Brooke something to eat soon.

"Brooke." Rachel said, breaking the silence at lease.

Rachel's firm voice forced Brooke out of the daze she'd slipped into. She turned her head and stared at the red haired beauty with glazed over stunning hazel eyes.

"You do realize we have to talk about this right?" Rachel questioned, her voice containing a hint of sarcasm.

"I don't see why." Brooke said, a little edge in her voice. "Let's just forget about what happened alright? You can go back to hating me and I can go back to…whatever. Just drop it."

Rachel forced herself not to smile at Brooke's accidental declaration of not hating her. The older girl pulled over, turning off the car before turning to face Brooke, who wouldn't quite meet her eyes but instead stared at a seemingly interesting switch on the radio.

"It matters to me." Rachel whispered, leaning in and taking Brooke's hand in her own.

When Brooke stayed silent, Rachel continued "I know you're scared but that's okay because I am too. We can be scared together. But the truth is I really like you Brooke. I care about you in a way that, well I've never felt before and I'm pretty sure you like me back. So let's make this simple, two people that like each other should at least take a chance on this, on us."

Rachel leaned forward all the way; wrapping an arm around Brooke's back and not missing the other girl's flinch. The lips of the two girls were almost touching; they were so close they could hear each other's hearts beating loudly. Rachel could hear the hitch in Brooke's breathing and the shaking of her hands as they wrapped themselves around Rachel's neck.

"I'm going to kiss you now." Rachel whispered.

Brooke let out the smallest of whimpers before closing the distance and connecting their lips together. The kiss shared between the two girls was sweet and filled with passion. Brooke moaned, and ran her fingers through Rachel's long hair. Rachel wrapped her arms gently around Brooke's waist, deepening the kiss. Rachel immediately pulled back when she felt Brooke's entire body tense up. Slowly, she pulled away and tried to gage Brooke's reaction.

"I really, really like you Rach." Brooke huffed out, her breathing ragged.

"So let's do this, let's give us a try." Brooke continued, her usually pain-filled eyes, full of hope, happiness and still fear. Always fear.

**Aww, Brooke and Rachel are together! Well, almost. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I really don't have an excuse. Please let me to know if you have any comments or suggestions by reviewing. It means the world to me. Thanks for reading and I"ll try to update faster this time. **


	4. Chapter 4

The ride back to Brooke's house was nearly silent, the hands of the two girls were loosely intertwined and Rachel was driving again, still a little wary of Brooke's state of mind.

"What's going to happen, Rach?" Brooke asked her voice distant.

"What do you mean, when?" Rachel asked concerned, glancing over at Brooke.

"School, when we go back tomorrow. What…is this? What are we going to do?" Brooke asked, sounded on the verge of panicking.

"Calm down Brooke, we can be whatever you want. Obviously you know my feelings, I want you to be my girlfriend but we don't have to tell anyone yet, if you're not ready." Rachel reassured.

The brunette took a deep, calming breath. "Okay. I want to be your girlfriend too Rach and I want to do this right so why don't we start with a small group, like just a couple of my friends and see how they react?" Brooke suggested.

"Alright, sounds like a plan to me." Rachel said, smiling at Brooke.

The car pulled up to Brooke's house and both girls excited the car. They walked up to Brooke's front door, hands linked and stood there.

"Do you want to stay awhile?" Brooke asked nervously.

"I'd love to." Rachel said, stepping close to Brooke and wrapping one arm around the other girl's too thin waist.

Brooke tensed, nervously wrapping her arms around Rachel's neck in an effort to cover her nervous and come off as confident as she wish that she felt. Rachel noticed, as always, but didn't pull away. The older girl captured the brunette's lips with her own, pressing their bodies together.

A soft whimper escaped the younger girl's lips, as she tried to cover it up. Rachel froze; she knew the whimper wasn't from pleasure. Brooke was biting back a scream; she loved having Rachel so close to her but literally every part of her body was on fire. For a brief moment, Brooke considered telling Rachel, maybe she could help. The thought was quickly dismissed; she couldn't let him hurt Rachel too.

Slowly, Rachel pulled away, keeping no physical contact with Brooke. She silently took the key from the Brooke, opening the door to her house, and pulling Brooke in by the wrist.

"Ow, Rachel! What is your problem, stop pulling me!" Brooke protested, trying to pull her arm back.

Rachel completely ignored the other girl's plea, continuing to pull her through the house until the two girls reached Brooke's bedroom.

"Change." Rachel said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"Doesn't that usually happen on the second date?" Brooke asked jokingly, giving Rachel the famous Brooke Davis smirk.

"I'm not playing around Brooke. Change, into shorts and a t-shirt. It is way too damn hot out for yoga pants and long sleeves." Rachel finished, her voice deadly serious.

"Rach…come on." Brooke pleaded. An unsaid plea evident in her voice.

Rachel faltered, she really needed to see if Brooke was hurt and if so, how badly. At the same time, she didn't want to scare Brooke away, they'd only been "official" for about an hour, pressuring Brooke now seemed like a bad choice.

Against her better judgment, Rachel caved.

"Alright, fine. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do Brooke. Not yet, but if I even so much as hear one whimper or see one wince, I'll take you to a hospital so fast you won't even be able to say "I'm fine" Rachel threatened.

Brooke let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah." Rachel grumbled. "You wanna watch a movie, slut?" Rachel asked playfully.

"With your skanky ass? Any time." Brooke replied, as Rachel wrapped her arms around Brooke's waist.

Again, Brooke's entire body tensed at the movement and she began to shake ever so softly.

"I..umm.. I'll go pick one out." Brooke said, her voice shaking as she quickly excited the protective circle of Rachel's arms.

"Damn it." Rachel whispered, quickly going after Brooke in the direction she took off in.

"Brooke!" Rachel called, catching up with the other girl.

When Brooke didn't acknowledge her, Rachel reached out and grabbed Brooke's wrist, spinning her around and facing the red-head.

Worry took over Rachel's gaze as she saw tears forming in the eyes of the younger girls'.

"I'm s-sorry." Brooke stuttered out, choking on a sob.

"It's okay, shh, it's alright." Rachel cooed softly, bringing the shorter girl's head into her shoulder and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"No it's not! I'm b-broken Rachel! And you can't f-fix me." Brooke cried, trying to break free of the taller girl's gently, yet firm hold.

"No you're not baby, you're not." Rachel cooed, over and over.

Brooke let out a muffled sob before letting the tears fall freely from her eyes. Rachel gently rubbed her back, whispering sweet nothings in her ears. Rachel let them to the couch and sat down, pulling Brooke's ever tense body onto her lap and she cried.

When Brooke was finally done crying, Rachel pulled her close.

"I'm gonna fix you Brooke Davis." Rachel whispered in her ear.

**Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! They were so sweet last time, that I thought I'd try and update quicker. I know it's not super long, but I'll write again really soon. Please let me know what you think, like, didn't like (Gently! ) And would like to see. Next chapter they'll tell brooke's friends about their relationship and their reactions. Thank you for reading and please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning seemed to come too quickly for both girls. The new couple had fallen asleep on Brooke's couch late the previous night. Brooke had cried herself to sleep and Rachel held her all night.

Brooke woke up first, immediately tensing at the feeling of unknown arms around her. Feeling trapped, Brooke quickly wormed out of Rachel's arms, walking out of the room and into her bathroom. Quietly, trying not to wake Rachel, she turned on the water and grabbed a fresh towel. She stared at her reflection, without any make-up on, Brooke looked like hell. The previous night had been the most sleep she'd gotten in ages and she still hadn't eaten in two or three days, she really couldn't remember. Her face didn't have a single bruise, cut or blemish and her fake smile was still flawless.

Brooke sighed, slowly removing her shirt, revealing painful-looking reddish-purple bruises that covered her entire stomach, back and sides. She winced as the fresh cool air hit her skin and goose bumps appeared on her bare arms. Her body began to shake as she reached down to her waist and was about to slowly slide down her yoga pants.

A sharp intake of breath caused Brooke's head to shoot up and her to stop removing her pants immediately.

Rachel, her beautiful girlfriend, stood leaning on the doorframe, tears silently flowing out her eyes.

"Rach…I didn't hear you get up." Brooke said in a whisper. She reached over and grabbed her bath robe, wrapping it around her now trembling body.

Still, Rachel said nothing, just stood there staring deep into Brooke's eyes with a piercing gaze. She stared at the girl she loved. Even with her body covered up, Rachel's mind was filled with the images of Brooke's bruised stomach. It looked as if the girl had been mauled by a bear.

Suddenly Brooke broke eye contact, her normally sparkling hazel eyes dulled and she brushed by Rachel with a huff. As Brooke walked by, the older girl caught her wrist, forcing to her stop.

"Let me go." Brooke commanded, her eyes burning with anger.

"No." Rachel said simply, giving Brooke a sad smile.

"God damn it Rachel! You are infuriating!" Brooke shouted, trying to rip her wrist from Rachel's firm grasp.

"Brooke…how bad does it hurt?" Rachel asked softly.

Brooke rolled her eyes "It's not bad okay? I just got into this really stupid fight a few days ago. Come on, we're going to be late for school."

Rachel released her grip on Brooke, not believing her terrible story but choosing to have this conversation when they got home. Rachel left the bathroom slowly and when to a different shower.

About 20 minutes later, Brooke stepped out of the shower in her bathrobe not showing any skin that wasn't on her face. She listened for the shower running in her parent's bathroom and let out a sigh of relief that Rachel was still showering. She applied a generous amount of make-up to her face and wrists. Not that her face was bruised, just paler then usual and dark circles were very visible. Brooke let out a sigh before giving herself the famous Brooke Davis smile in the mirror. After finishing her hair, Brooke walked over to her closet and selected another pair of dark skinny jeans and a long-sleeved blood-red top. The brunette didn't think she could handle heals today, so she went for a simple, yet classy pair of sandals instead. After putting on some earrings, Brooke deemed herself ready for school.

Just then, Rachel walked into the room wearing a hot pink bathrobe. Her beautiful red hair was dark and wet from the shower and her skin was flawless without make-up. Her green eyes seemed as light up as she saw Brooke.

"Wow, Rachel. You're really beautiful." Brooke said shyly, walking over to the taller girl.

Rachel blushed lightly "Thanks baby. You don't look so bad yourself." She teased.

Brooke looked really nervous all of the sudden as she realized just how close she was standing to Rachel. Very slowly, the younger girl lean forward and pressed her soft lips to Rachel's. Caught off guard but eager, Rachel returned the kiss, gently wrapping both her arms around Brooke's waist. Just like always, the smaller girl tensed in her arms. Rachel gently pushed Brooke away but gently laced their fingers together. She pulled Brooke onto the bed next to her.

"Have anything I can wear to school? Or would you rather I just wore this?" Rachel joked.

Brooke laughed and nodded. She went over to her closet and pulled out some very short jean shorts along with a sleeve-less purple top. She threw the cloths along with some underwear and a bra at Rachel who caught them and walked into the bathroom.

After a few minutes of changing, Rachel came out looking hot. She checked Brooke's vanity mirror, put on some lip stick and mascara before walking back over to Brooke bed and pulling the shorter girl up.

"So what do you want for breakfast?" Rachel asked cheerily.

"I a-already ate actually." Brooke stuttered, surprised Rachel asked her that. No one ever noticed when she didn't eat.

"Brooke I know you haven't eaten. Look at you, you're skin and bones." Rachel said gently.

"Rachel this is stupid, let's just go to school." Brooke said anxiously as she turned to leave.

Rachel stepped in front of Brooke, blocking her exit.

"Okay, we'll go to school. But I'm not going to pretend that you eat when I know you don't. I'm not going to pretend that I didn't see those bruises on your stomach or that I'm sure there are a lot more of them that **you will** be showing me later. I'm not going to pretend that you don't flinch when I touch you. Fixing you Brooke, does not mean ignoring the problem, it means helping you. So that is exactly what I'm going to do. So we're going to go to school, and I'm going to keep an eye on you. Then, you're going to cancel cheer practice, and you and I are going to come home and talk about this." Rachel said, keeping eye contact with Brooke the entire time.

"You have no idea what you're talking about Rachel." Brooke growled, trying to seem mad.

Brooke was shaking now. Her eyes were wide with fear. Rachel had figured out that something was wrong, and she was going to make her tell Rachel everything. The thought of opening up, telling Rachel everything completely petrified Brooke. What if Rachel left her? She'd finally gotten her dream girl and now she was going to lose her.

"Look we'll talk when we get home. For now try to relax, you look really stressed out." Rachel commented.

"Come on, I'll drive." Rachel said softly, pulling Brooke to the car and helping her into the passenger's seat.

Rachel walked around to the other side of the car; it was going to be one interesting day she thought to herself.

**Hey everyone! Sorry it's been like a month since I updated. I'm out of school now so I'm trying to update everything the best I can. I'm really excited for the next chapter; I've already started writing it. Please review this chapter, let me know what you like, what you think, what you want to see ext. Thanks for reading! Please Review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! This is the longest chapter I've ever written, so I hope you like it! **

The car ride to school was nearly silent. Brooke was staring out the window, still mad at herself for letting Rachel read her like a book. Rachel was trying to concentrate on driving while letting her mind wonder. Today was going to be the day from hell. They were going to tell some of their friends about their relationship and after school Rachel was going to find out what exactly was happening to her girlfriend.

As they pulled into the schools parking lot, Brooke turned to open the door only to be stopped by Rachel.

"Brooke I want you to listen to me." Rachel said, her usually playful tone replaced with a serious one.

"I'm crazy about you. And no matter what your friends think of this, I'm still going to be crazy about you. I don't care what they think or say, I like you for real. Don't ever doubt that babe." Rachel finished with a smirk, kissing Brooke on the cheek.

Brooke let out a sigh. "Thanks Rach, I guess I really needed to hear that. Look I'm sorry I got mad at you this morning. But I feel the same way. I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with but I really, really like you. And whatever my friends think about our relationship is their problem. I'll still want to be with you, whether this goes fantastic and they accept it or it all goes to hell and I need some new friends." Brooke joked, hesitantly pulling her red haired girlfriend into a tight hug, during which Brooke bit back a scream. Rachel had to force herself not to question her girlfriend; she knew she'd get answers tonight.

Brooke and Rachel exited and casually walked over to Brooke's usual group up friends consisting of Peyton, Haley, Nathan, Lucas, and Jake.

"Hey Brooke." Nathan called from his seat next to his wife. Confusion was evident on his face at seeing Rachel with her.

"Hey Tigger!" Haley greeted enthusiastically.

She received several similar greetings from all of her friends before standing in front of all of them. She pulled Rachel along with her, gripping her hand for support. Several group members noticed the action but didn't comment.

"There is some I need to tell you guys." Brooke began, her voice shaking.

"Okay, what's up Brooke?" Nathan asked curiously.

"Rachel and I…we're kind of dating now." Brooke stuttered out, taking a deep calming breath.

Rachel squeezed her hand, hoping to provide some kind of support for her girlfriend.

Peyton was the first to recover from the shock. The curly blonde started to laugh as if she'd just been told the funniest joke ever.

"Come on Brooke, that wasn't funny. You had us all going there for a second." Peyton said as she continued laughing.

"It's no joke P Sawyer." Brooke said, using her old nick name.

"Wow, congratulations guys." Jake said slowly, getting up and pulling Brooke into a loose hug, which as usual, Brooke fought the urge to scream and her body was tense. He politely shook Rachel's hand and sat back down next to Haley.

"Brooke…are you serious?" Haley questioned angrily. "This girl has made your life a nightmare! How can you trust her?"

"Tutor-girl, I'm crazy about Rachel. We only "hated" to try and push away these feelings we have. But the truth is, I'm tired of fighting them. I found someone I want to be with so I'm going to for it." Brooke said, looking at Rachel the whole time.

"Rachel…I swear to God, I'm not a violent person but I'll kill you if you hurt her or don't take this seriously." Haley growled.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Rachel promised, kissing Brooke's forehead.

"So Hot-shot, what are we thinking?" Brooke asked Nathan nervously.

"Well, to each their own. If she makes you happy Brookie Cookie, I support you. How could I not? You're practically my sister." Nathan said, getting and pulling both girls into a tight hug.

"And Rachel, you hurt her and I'll kick your ass." Nathan said in a playful tone, although he was completely serious.

"Noted." Rachel smirked and turned to Brooke, whose eyes held fear and panic from the hug and impeding opinions from her friends.

"This is disgusting and wrong." Peyton spoke out.

"Peyton come on…don't be like this." Brooke begged.

"No! I think you dating another girl is disgusting. Especially a whore like her." Peyton said viciously.

"Peyton…" Haley said in a warning.

"Don't you call my girlfriend a whore Peyton Sawyer!" Brooke shot back angrily.

"Brooke, babe don't get all worked up." Rachel whispered, discreetly wrapping her arm around Brooke's waist to restrain her.

"This is a new low, even for you Brooke." Peyton spat at her before getting her backpack and leaving.

Brooke's body began to tremble and Rachel tightened her hold on her girlfriend. Rachel could feel the muscles in Brooke's back tense up. Sensing an episode coming, Rachel tried to deflect.

"Wow, I see Peyton is still a bitch." Rachel said loudly, earning a small chuckle from the group.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Jake said awkwardly, getting up to leave.

"Luke?" Brooke asked, her voice quivering.

Lucas finally looked up and made eye contact with her. His piercing blue gaze that used to make her heart race met her own nervous hazel eyes.

"Well Brooke, I love you. I know we aren't together anymore, but I love you. Not romantically of course, but I want you to be happy." Lucas paused to get up walk over to the new couple. "And if being with her makes you happy, then I'm completely happy for you. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you, pretty girl." Lucas finished with a smile, pulling his ex girlfriend into a loose, friendly embrace.

"You have no idea how happy that makes me. And you'll find the girl for you Luke, I know you will. And she'll be the luckiest girl on the planet." Brooke whispered into his chest. For once, Brooke didn't tense up during his hug. This shot a surge of jealously through Rachel, who quickly shook it off and met Lucas's gaze.

"You take care of her alright? I don't want to have to join Nathan in kicking your ass." Lucas said seriously, with a playful hint. He reached out and shook Rachel's hand as she nodded.

"By the way Brooke, you've got some pretty good taste in women. Rachel's hot." Luke said with a smirk, sending a playful wink to the girls.

The group let out a laugh, the obvious tension in the room seemed to disappear for the moment.

"Thank you guys so much. It means that world to me to have your support, well most of you." Brooke trailed off, suddenly finding the ground interesting.

"I know it'll take some time, getting used to me and Brooke but I'm crazy about her. So thank you guys, for giving me a change." Rachel said honestly.

The group hugged and began walking to their first class, math. Haley, Lucas and Brooke all had math first while Jake, Rachel, Nathan, and Peyton started with science. As the group split into two, Nathan kissed Hayley goodbye and Rachel gently kissed Brooke on the forehead.

"I'll see you at lunch." Rachel whispered before joining her new friends on the way to class.

Brooke let out a sigh of relief as she walked to class. All of her friends, except Peyton, had taken the new well and supported her relationship with Rachel.

Rachel…even the thought of her girlfriend brought a smile to Brooke's face. The brunette didn't think she'd ever been this happy before. Granted, that was all about to go out the window after tonight. Telling Rachel the secret she'd never told anyone, the secret that could put them both in more danger. But if she didn't tell Rachel, she could lose her and that just wasn't an option for Brooke.

The young brunette shook off these thoughts and joined Lucas and Haley in their math class.

* * *

><p>The day seemed to pass by all the quickly. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful, the two girls sat together at lunch. The new couple sat next to each other, their fingers intertwined underneath the table. Their friends laughed and joked with them, trying to maintain some sense of normalcy. Peyton and Jake never showed up for lunch, much to Brooke's dismay.<p>

Before either girl had realized it, the bell had rung and the two girls were standing outside Rachel's locker, getting ready to cancel cheer squad practice.

"Rach, do I really need to cancel practice? I mean we can talk after." Brooke begged.

"Yup, you do. Listen, I know that you're not exactly looking to having this talk with me. I get that, trust me but I do have other reason s for wanting you to cancel cheer practice." Rachel said, checking to make sure the hallway was deserted before lacing her fingers through Brooke's.

"Oh my God, please don't tell me you're jealous already?" Brooke asked teasingly.

"Not exactly what I meant Brookie. I am worried about you though, I know I said we'd wait until tonight to talk but the fact that you're pretty seriously hurt isn't really a secret anymore. Cheer practice puts unnecessary stress on your body and frankly, I don't think you can handle that right now." Rachel said seriously.

"Look I get that you're trying to look out for me, but I'm a big girl Rach, I can make my own decisions." Brooke snapped back.

"Obviously you don't make very good ones, or you whatever is hurting wouldn't be hurting you!" Rachel yelled angrily.

Tears pooled in Brooke's hazel eyes and she turned to leave only to be stopped by Rachel.

"Wait, Brooke, wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, at all. Whatever is wrong, it isn't your fault. Its just been an emotionally intense couple of days and I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry." Rachel murmured out sincerely.

"I understand that this is hard for you Rachel. This is by no means a "normal" relationship, we both know that. But did you ever stop to think for a second that this is hard on me too?" Brooke hissed back.

"Of course! All I do is think about you! Don't you know that?" Rachel asked, exasperated.

"I don't want to have this fight with you in the school hallway." Brooke said dismissively.

Rachel groaned in frustration before pulling Brooke along to the gymnasium. The two girls walked in silence, their fingers no longer intertwined. As the pair entered the gym all eyes fell on the two girls. Brooke took her usual stance in front of the cheerleaders.

"So..um, I know this is a little unorthodox, but I'm canceling practice tonight." Brooke said awkwardly, her eye darted over to meet Rachel's, who nodded in agreement.

"Why not? Got better things to do Brooke?" Peyton asked sarcastically.

"Family emergency." Brooke muttered out quietly.

Most of the other girls nodded in sympathy, wishing Brooke the best before exiting into the locker room to change out of their cheer clothes. The couple was left standing in the gym alone. Brooke looked down, suddenly taking an interesting in the shiny gym floor and Rachel just stood next to her and watched.

Still without addressing her girlfriend, Brooke exited the gym swiftly. The limp in Brooke's step was almost unnoticeable to anyone except Rachel, who of course was looking for one. The red head rolled her eyes and followed her stubborn brunette out of gym and quickly caught up to her. The pair walked in silence back to Brooke's car.

"I'm driving." Brooke announced, brushing by Rachel and getting into the driver's seat.

Rachel bit her tongue and fought the urge to protest. She understood that Brooke was a 16 year old girl that was perfectly capable of driving, but that didn't mean Rachel wanted her to when she was upset. Rachel nodded slowly and sat in the passenger's seat. The brunette started the car and drove out of the school without a word. Rachel turned on the radio to break the awkward silence that had filled the car and stole a glance at her girlfriend. The younger girl's posture was tense, her hands where so tight on the steering wheel that her knuckles were white. Needless to say, Rachel was concerned but didn't want to overwhelm her girlfriend, she'd be doing that tonight.

After ten painfully slow minutes, the two girls finally arrived back at Brooke's huge house and got out of the car. Both girls walked up the driveway and Brooke pulled out her key and began to unlock the door. Rachel zoned out, looking around Brooke's yard and enjoying her last moments of normalcy before the intense stuff started. Realizing it was taking her girlfriend longer than it should to unlock the door, she glanced at the brunette only to find that her hands were shaking too bad to get the key in the lock and the younger girl close to tears.

"Damn it, just work." Brooke whispered, her voice shaking.

Rachel reached over and put her hand on top of Brooke's, forcing the girl to look up and meet her gaze. The hazel-eyed girl stopped her motions and locked eyes with the red head, who gently took the key and quickly unlocked the door, ushering her girlfriend inside.

Almost as if she were on autopilot, Brooke walked into the house, through the kitchen, up the stairs and went straight into her bedroom. It was almost as if she didn't notice or care what Rachel was doing. The brown eyed girl followed her girlfriend worriedly. Rachel sat down on the bed as Brooke paced nervously back and forth around the room. This went on for a couple minutes as silence filled the room until Rachel stood and pulled her brunette girlfriend onto the bed with her and wrapped her arms around her waist. Brooke tensed at the sudden contact and tried her hardest not to scream at her girlfriend to let go. Taking several deep calming breaths, Brooke finally locked eyes with Rachel.

"You want to know why I'm like this. Why I have bruises, why I flinch when anyone touches me, what made me like this." Brooke stated calmly.

Rachel nodded silently.

"It was that sick bastard's fault. He made me like this Rachel! He did this!" Brooke shouted, getting out of Rachel's arms and shaking him rage.

"Brooke, baby I need you to calm down for me. Take a deep breath, sit down and tell me what's happening." Rachel said soothingly, taking Brooke's hand and leading her back over to the bed.

"When I was young, I never saw my parents." Brooke began, her voice already shaking.

"They were never around, not even for my birthday. I wouldn't even know what they looked like if there weren't pictures up in the house but it never bothered me because I always got what I wanted. And I always had P-peyton."

Rachel nodded sympathetically and gave Brooke's hand a squeeze.

"One day when I was 14, my Dad came home. Of course I was happy to see him, that he was paying me any attention at all. I didn't even notice that he didn't bring bitchtoria along. God I was so stupid. He told me that he had an important business deal the next day and that he wanted me to t-tag along." Brooke relived the story, tremors shaking her body and Rachel was too afraid of the younger girl's reaction to touch her.

"He brought me into this building and it was sketchy and dark, like in downtown. I thought it was so cool, spending time with my D- him." Brooke whimpered, unable to call the sick man her dad.

"He traded me to these men as a business deal. T-they took me into this room and it was d-dark and they did things Rachel, t-terrible t-things and I-I can't talk about t-this anymore." Brooke spoke through her tears as strangled sobs took over.

Rachel tried to pull her distressed girlfriend into her arms but immediately stopped when the brunette began to resist and begged her to stop. Brooke was in a flashback and Rachel was helpless.

"Brooke? Brooke! Baby I need you to be here with me. Now, in this moment. It's just you and me. You don't have to talk anymore okay? You're here with me, you're safe." Rachel chanted.

Slowly, Brooke's tremors turned into subtle shakes and her sobs died down to quiet cries and silent tears. The two girls held eye contact for a long time before Brooke hesitantly pulled Rachel into a tense hug, which the red head happily reciprocated.

"God, I'm so sorry Brooke. I promise you, I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." Rachel vowed, tears leaking out of her eyes.

"Will you stay with me tonight? I don't want to b-be alone." Brooke muttered, her eyes filled with such innocence and the vulnerability was so evident in her voice that Rachel felt her heart break for her girlfriend.

"Of course." Rachel murmured, pulling the girl closer.

Not much later, Rachel felt Brooke's body relax and her breathing even out to a sleeping pattern. The red head let out a sigh of relief and felt her own body relax against her girlfriend's. So it was these men, theses strangers that were hurting her beautiful, sweet girlfriend? Hell no, Rachel wouldn't stand for it. Granted, she needed Brooke to finish her story but tonight they had a breakthrough. Rachel would learn some of the things that trigger those memories for Brooke as well as details tomorrow, but the fact the Brooke had open up and trusted her put her on cloud nine.

"You're amazing Brooke. And I'll never let anyone hurt you again, I swear." Rachel whispered in Brooke's ear before drifting off to sleep.

**WOW that was a long chapter! Like 3,000 words! Defiantly the longest I've ever written. Well there you have it, Brooke's secret is out. You'll learn more on the details in the next few chapters. Maybe some more interaction with her friends? Please let me know what you think, what you liked and would like to see. Sorry it took so long, I kind of hit a wall about half way through. Thank you for reading and please review. **


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